When the title of a post is 30 words long, sentence case would be easier to parse than title case.

This may not be the complete answer to the question posted in the headline, but I suspect it may be the case that, in the federal system, they can't prosecute people for felonies without a grand-jury indictment (or waiver of indictment), and witnesses keep refusing to answer questions in front of the grand jury (which is the stated reason for putting the recalcitrant witnesses in jail). State courts (in Washington, anyway) don't use grand juries to bring criminal charges; the prosecuting attorney can file an information, there's a hearing in front of a single judge, and you're off to the races.

But I'm sure it's really because the FBI and the US Attorney's Office are just dicks and like putting people in jail for political reasons. That appears to be everyone's take on the situation, so it must be true.

Police State.

@2 That is total bullshit. None of the questions that the feds have been asking in the grand juries are about specific testimony they know would lead to charges. Everything points to this being political fishing to put on a show to distract from the most interesting question of all: why are there never charges brought against any of the core organized vandals? The charges like those of the county are always against side actors. This isn't a case of acts done in the dead of night, like building arson. These acts are in broad daylight in situations and conditions where law enforcement knows there will be property destruction. Yet, the black clothes group ALWAYS slips away after their actions have done their work of discrediting the open public protestors. Hmmm....

@5

Could you perhaps tell us how you know what questions are being asked in that closed grand jury?

The county's tactic is, hey, you people in the local area, look at this face, do you know this face? You know this face! What else about this face do you know? Thank you kind citizen, we will use your information to put bad people behind bars. The people who have caused a harm to our community will be let known that this behavior is not tolerable.

The federal tactic is, YOU'RE A HORRIBLE HUMAN BEING IF YOU DON'T TELL US EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO TELL US AND EVERYTHING YOU DON'T NEED TO TELL US AND GIVING US ANY ANSWER WE DON'T LIKE A LITTLE BIT MEANS WE WILL NOT HESITATE TO THROW YOUR ASS IN FEDERAL RAPE ME IN THE ASS PRISON. NOW SIT DOWN. I SAID GET UP. SIT YO ASS DOWN.

I'm amazed anyone takes our federal government seriously, they're inept and terrible at nearly everything they do. They're making a really great case for cascadia here, go home feds, we don't need you anymore.

Do a public disclosure request on the SPD and LIEU and the city's intelligence audits. Juicy stuff there.

@6 The people being questioned are telling us what they are being asked.

@11

Well, no. There are people telling us what questions they claim they were asked, but they are not "the people being questioned," are they? The people telling us these things (which the question-askers can not legally confirm, primarily, and ironically, to protect the witnesses) are the people actively resisting the grand jury, and vigorously publicizing their resistance.

Do you know what questions Leah Lynn-Plante was asked, and what questions she answered?

The grand jury can go jump in a lake.

Yes, #13, they can do that. But those who refuse to answer its questions can go sit in jail. And the "progressives" who are encouraging the refusal can kick and scream and whine and stamp their little feet all they want, but it won't change a thing.

Why do you act like the grand jury system is sacred? Why SHOULDN'T people defy it when it is clearly being unjust?

Has blind obedience to unjust institutions ever produced positive results for the human race?

And what business is if of the prosecutor's office what ANYONE's political views are? Your politics are supposed to be irrelevant in a criminal trial.

Really weird that you get THIS wound up over a few trivial broken windows...when you've never cared how many broken human beings the status quo produces in this country.

I don't regard the grand jury system as "sacred," but the least you could do is have a look at the history of that system and why it was put into the constitution to begin with. Now, I'm perfectly willing to entertain the idea that it's been twisted out of shape, but to have that argument suddenly pop up here because some "progressive" hipsters are pissed off that their faux-anarchist pals are in jail for contempt of court is, well, not very serious.

I'm not "wound up" over anything, broken windows or otherwise. I'm just doing what I always do on the Slog, commenting. And I'm answering the comments because when I comment, I bookmark the thread and see how it's going. Call it lowbrow entertainment. I'm no more "wound up" than anyone else.

As for what I do, have, or will care about, you are in no position to know. But you do like to assume. See, the "progressives" of Seattle just go apeshit when they encounter anyone who won't bow to their superior humanity. Well, here I am. Keep going apeshit. It's good for some laughs, and not at my own expense.

I'm surprised Fnarf hasn't jumped into this to demand we offer our blind obedience and immediate capitulation to Our Glorious Leader the Prison-Industrial Complex yet...